Telling Yourself the Truth: Find Your Way Out of Depression, Anxiety, Fear, Anger, and Other Common Problems by Applying the Principles of Misbelief Therapy

Do you tell yourself negative things about yourself? I think all of us have things that we say all the time to ourselves that we never think twice about. It can be things that we've been told in childhood by parents, siblings, friends, or even things that we have heard from our spouse. We start to believe these negative things and then chime in to reinforce this negative talk.

This is NOT how God sees us or how we should treat ourselves. This negative talk can hold us back from doing the things we really want to do and can even make us physically sick!

I love that this book gives us the tools to start talking to ourselves the way God sees us and they even give us the Scriptures to back up what God says! For me, this was incredibly helpful and showed me the truth in God's Word about who I am.

The back of the book provides questions for each chapter that you can work through and help yourself to stop the negative talk. I found that I didn't even realize I was doing some of the negative talk to myself until I did these worksheets in the back. It really helped me to clarify areas where I need to believe who I am through God's eyes.

I highly recommend this book! It really has helped me to change a lot of the negative talk and feelings I've had about myself and has given me the tools and help I need to start talking positively about myself and believing the truth! This book is a definite 5 out of 5 star book.

*This book was provided to me for my honest review by Bethany House Publishers

This is a wonderful, insightful book I think everyone needs to read! When I decided to read it, I thought it looked interesting, but wasn't sure how much of it would really apply to me. However, I started to realize that I need to work on some of the areas in this book. Probably everyone engages in negative self-talk in one form or another and this book really makes you pay attention to every word you tell yourself. Is this thought true or is it a lie? Some of the topics are misbeliefs in depression, anger, anxiety, lack of self-control, fear of change and relationships with others. The authors back up their claims with a lot of Scripture and take you step-by-step through realizing the misbeliefs you have, removing them and replacing them with the truth. They also give helpful advice for how to deal with different situations. They give a lot of examples of people so it's easy to see it played out. These techniques have been proven to work in the author's own practice and these principles are actually from the Bible and have been around since before King Solomon. There's a wonderful study guide included with space to write in answers and thoughts. I highly recommend this book to everyone!

I received a free copy of this book from Bethany House Publishers in exchange for an honest review.

Just started this book so this review is incomplete. But so far this book has been earth shaking in it's reality check of thoughts that make an person unnecessarily miserable. Even the first few chapters have challenged everything previously believed. In a good way. Looking forward to the growth it will lead to.

In simplest terms this book is about cognitive restructuring: changing your beliefs by addressing self-statements that aren’t true and replacing them with tempered (non-catastrophic) truth statements. Authors Backus and Chapian write from truth as grounded within a Christian/ biblical worldview and speak to the reader as if the reader is coming from that background as well, and understands it at least nominally. Included in this paperback edition is a study guide (essentially questions and challenges at the end of every chapter).

Backus and Chapian realize, as does any intuitive person, that our socializations and society shape us powerfully and fundamentally but also that this shaping only goes as far as the individual accepts it and makes it a part of themselves (thus, be careful what negatives you tell your children). To an important degree we have the power within ourselves, based on our beliefs and how they will direct us and influence our emotional well-being, to live individually triumphant lives marked by truth in our relationship to our divine Creator and so to be free of a large degree of pain and suffering that has its roots in so many misbeliefs. The authors (both Ph.D.s) break up the book by discussing misbeliefs in: depression; anger; anxiety; self-control; self-hate; fear of change; being indispensable; etc. If you’ve had any passing acquaintance with psychology you’ll recognize much of this but it is presented in an easily understandable and practical manner, and for western Christians the writers use examples that many will be familiar with as well as biblical coaching and truth structuring.

I enjoyed the book and found a lot of value in it; good reminders especially as well as some challenging of my own misbeliefs. As I was reading through it I also thought of friends, or family, who could benefit from it and I aim to pass it on. It’s certainly worthwhile. Subject matter value = 5 stars. Presentation = 4 stars.